their destruction , the people of God will flee from the cities and villages and associate together in companies , dwelling in the most desolate and solitary places . Many will find refuge in the strongholds of the mountains . Like the Christians of the Piedmont valleys , they will make the high places of the earth their sanctuaries and will thank God for " the munitions of rocks ." Isaiah 33:16 . But many of all nations and of all classes , high and low , rich and poor , black and white , will be cast into the most unjust and cruel bondage . The beloved of God pass weary days , bound in chains , shut in by prison bars , sentenced to be slain , some apparently left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome dungeons . No human ear is open to hear their moans ; no human hand is ready to lend them help .
Will the Lord forget His people in this trying hour ? Did He forget faithful Noah when judgments were visited upon the antediluvian world ? Did He forget Lot when the fire came down from heaven to consume the cities of the plain ? Did He forget Joseph surrounded by idolaters in Egypt ? Did He forget Elijah when the oath of Jezebel threatened him with the fate of the prophets of Baal ? Did He forget Jeremiah in the dark and dismal pit of his prison house ? Did He forget the three worthies in the fiery furnace ? or Daniel in the den of lions ?
" Zion said , The Lord hath forsaken me , and my Lord hath forgotten me . Can a woman forget her sucking child , that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb ? yea , they may forget , yet will I not forget thee . Behold , I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands ." Isaiah 49:14-16 . The Lord hosts has said : " He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye ." Zechariah 2:8 .
Though enemies may thrust them into prison , yet dungeon walls cannot cut off the communication between their souls and Christ . One who sees their every weakness , who is acquainted with every trial , is above all earthly powers ; and angels will come to them in lonely cells , bringing light and peace from heaven . The prison will be as a palace ; for the rich in faith dwell there , and the gloomy walls will be lighted up with heavenly light as when Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises at midnight in the Philippian dungeon .
God ' s judgments will be visited upon those who are seeking to oppress and destroy His people . His long forbearance with the wicked emboldens men in transgression , but their punishment is nonetheless certain and terrible because it is long delayed . " The Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim , He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon , that He may do His work , His strange work ; and bring to pass His act , His strange act ." Isaiah 28:21 . To our merciful God the act of punishment is a strange act . " As I live , saith the Lord God , I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ." Ezekiel 33:11 . The Lord is " merciful and gracious , long-
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